Exhibit displays photos of Japan's heritage sites

Some of Japan's cultural legacies will be displayed at the Dublin Arts Council this month.

"Timeless Beauty: World Heritage Sites of Japan" will be on view at the Dublin Arts Council through Feb. 21, with an special reception slated for 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14.

The exhibition includes 67 images of Japan's heritage sites taken by photographer Kazuyoski Miyoshi that have been purchased by the Japan Foundation.

According to Dublin Arts Council Executive Director David Guion, the Japan-America Society of Central Ohio and Kate Eckhoff, its director of programming, was instrumental in bringing the exhibition to Dublin.

"Kate Eckhoff called and asked if we were interested in exhibiting the work and I immediately said 'Yes,' " Guion said.

"We have such a responsive Japanese community in Dublin and part of our mission is to engage the community," he said.

Eckhoff said she also had Dublin's large Japanese community in mind when she saw news of the exhibition.

"Dublin is home to the largest population of Japanese nationals living in the state," she said.

"The consul general said we have over 2,000 Japanese nationals living in Dublin.

"In the state, there are just over 8,000," Eckhoff said.

"For a suburb of Columbus to have the largest population of Japanese nationals in the state makes sense to bring in art to reflect that population."

The exhibition will make its way to the Dublin Arts Council, thanks to the Japan Foundation in New York and the Japan-America Society of Central Ohio, Guion said.

The Japan Foundation, Eckhoff said, has grants and exhibitions to help spread knowledge of the country's culture.

"The Japan Foundation supports exchanging Japan's culture," she said. "One way is a photo exhibition. It's a great opportunity and my first thought was to call David."

The exhibition opening in Dublin this month is a big one with many panels, Guion said.

"It travels all over the country. We're thrilled to have it," he said.

"We rarely bring in traveling exhibitions, but this was so intriguing and so important that we thought why not bring this in? The work is amazing."

This isn't the first time the Dublin Arts Council has worked with the Japan-America Society of Central Ohio.

The group recently helped fund a workshop with Japanese artist Masayuki Miyajima in December.

"It's always great when organizations can collaborate and work together to make these things happen," Guion said.

"It brings in people that wouldn't normally come to visit and that's always good for us as well."

The Dublin Arts Council is at 7125 Riverside Drive in Dublin and the exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.